Highlights

Comoros reported, on 30 April, its first case of a person who contracted COVID-19. Lesotho remains the only country in Africa with no confirmed cases to date.

South Africa, the first country in the region to report a imported case on 5 March, has confirmed that nearly 6,000 people have contracted COVID-19 so far.

The number of people with COVID-19 is rising in Somalia, where the weak health system lacks capacity to respond. Cases in Djibouti are also increasing, with nearly 1,100 recorded.

Multiple locations have reported a spike in gender-based violence, as communities face rising economic pressure.

Resources are urgently needed to scale-up the life-saving response and common services for the outbreak.